FUTURE_OF_GM

Typical "meh..it's decent" ending. Told you they'd find reasons to write the car off, or not give it the respect due. "The badge" and th bitchy little issues with the interior. The car costs HALF the price of what they're comparing it to. Overall; terrible article that brushes aside the best from GM, typical of the media.

They bitch about them being on the door arm rest because of the kiddies, then bitch about them being on the console. Just a prime example of the "Detroit: Damned if they do, damned if they don't" mentality that the media uses with the big 2.5. What about the dash bin? (That NO reviewer has mentioned) This article is too nitpicky in general, these are just the 2 things that annoy me most. Not a bad (RELUCTANT) rating at all though.

I think you'll see better HP numbers too, but maybe that's just wishful thinking. On a side note: A local DJ I listen to gave the new Impala an awesome "shout out" the other day saying how impressed he was with the car. Not sure why, I think he was on location and a listener pulled up in one or something but anyway, I thought it was great

LMFAO!!!!!!

Their sources= The Toyota Kool-Aid that everyone else has been drinking. (Too bad it isn't spiked like that Heaven's Gate kool-aid was <_< )

I'll second that.

Thank God!! It's about time somebody at GM woke up on this issue... Now if we could just get them to tout quality improvements and economic contributions we'd be in business.

How many times does this have to be said... THE reason GM is fast-forwarding the launch of GMT900 is because of MARGIN problems, not demand. Demnad will probably NEVER fully recover to the inflated levels of the past decade for big BOF SUVs as the market was trending to crossovers LONG before fuel prices were of concern. GM knows demand will not be what it was for GMT800, their main concern is getting the MARGIN right or A.K.A. having a competitive line-up on the market that they're not having to incentivize $6,000 a pop to sell. When the prices recover, as hopefully GMT900 will allow since it will be more positioned to compete, GM will be fine. They might not be bringing in the killer $$$ of the 90's on trucks, but they also won't be bleeding red ink everywhere either. GMT900 is esentially a "break even or better" plan.

Here is a story of how this is taking place in the real world: We have 2 dealers; a Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC franchise (Of which I know the owner pretty well) and a Buick-Saab franchise which also happened to be paired with VW, Audi, Porsche, Lotus, Isuzu and Mitsubishi at one time. The Dealer who had Buick & Saab sold off Mitsubishi, in a bid to be more of a "premium" dealership (Which is what they're known for anyway since they're uptown) and I guess they were planning on just dropping Isuzu. But anyway, the Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC dealership BEGAN selling Cadillacs way back in the 40s and bought Pontiac & GMC on down the line so naturally, combined with the margins, this made them reluctant to forfeit the Cadillac part of the franchise. They've been approached by GM for years about various things to do with the Cadillac franchise such as GM giving them the option to either sell it (At that time GM was trying to pair Cadillac with Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile was down the road at the Mercedes-Chrysler-Jeep-Plymouth dealership that actually ended up buying the affore mentioned "premium" dealerships Mitsubishi franchise) or trade the "premium" dealership for the Buick franchise therefore making a Pontiac-GMC-Buick channel and pairing Cadillac with Saab at the "premium" dealership. The owner would never budge though. So finally, right after GM announced the enhanced consolidation of Pontiac, Buick and GMC. The Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC franchise apparently brokered a deal to buy both the Saab and Buick franchises from the "premium" dealership. This is good and bad. Good because it creates 1) a GM megastore of sorts with more power over local media and advertising/influence and 2) because it creates 2 GM channels; Pontiac-Buick-GMC and Cadillac-Saab. Bad because 1) I'm not so sure the facilities and resources at this dealership can adequately handle 5 GM divisions, especially luxury buyers and 2) Because we're losing exposure to an audience that GM really needs to be targeting at the "premium" dealership. It probably helped sales and perceptions if people came into the "premium" dealership looking for a VW or Audi and came out impressed with a Saab or Buick. But, seriously how many of these people do you think will actually go to a GM dealership, especially when GM is screaming dime store cheap at the top of their lungs trying to clear out GMC SUVs, and then talking premium image and prices out the other side of their mouth about a 'fine' Saab. The moral of the story: GM needs to do a lot more to improve things than just grouping dealers.

Out of the listed names I chose Phoenix because of it's story (the actual story in mythology), it's relation to the Firebird and it's overall cool and 'new' sound. Other names I would suggest: REV Le Mans (Maybe) I dunno....I think Grand Am does kinda have a negative connotation with it (Although I always liked the Grand Am) LOL, maybe GSX type 6. Then the media would've loved it, hell we could even flip the Pontiac arrowhead upside down so it looks more like the "awesome" and "snazzy" and "cool" (sarcasm) yet mundane "A" that adorns all Car and Driver pay check writers...er... I mean Acuras

And what's so revolutionary is that the Solstice wasn't a high dollar program. Great job GM!!! I think the Solstice will really change perceptions about Pontiac and I think this sort of thinking and planning should be applied to GM as a whole. Why not sell it at Chevrolet? Just shoe horn in a V8, change the boby into a traditional coupe and throw on some heritage meets modern styling. (I know, it's not that simple... But I can wish)

I think that was always true of the old FWD Northstar cars... Like; Seville SLS: 275hp/300lb/ft Seville STS: 300hp/290lb/ft Or something like that.. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

More positive exposure that should've been given to GM a long time ago. GM=fine tuning efficiency Toyota=failed hybrid technology

Funny how that changes on a daily basis, and really changed once the imports started having massive recalls. The media sure as hell milked it for all it was worth to help destroy Detroit's remaining reputation. So, what we have here is: when a domestic is/was recalled it's a "stop the presses" event, but when an import is/was recalled it's "business as usual--not all cars are perfect" WHAT?!?!? The darling LANCER?!?!?!? UNSAFE!?!?!?!? NISSAN!!?!?!? The revival halted by an unsafe introduction to the division??? The Sentra? I love how they take the PR shots of the Ranger that make it look much taller to EMPHASIZE it's rollover risk. More bad PR for the Sport Trac, at a key time for Ridgeline sales... Hmmm. Lincoln Navigator: The least reliable car on the market according to Consumer Reports And therein lies the problem. "Reliability ratings often have a funny quirk, they work against the vehicles because often owners expect more from luxury vehicles." Hey! I remember when this LAME idea debuted.. It was the same year "Lowly" Buick beat Lexus in reliability. This is a LAME argument. IF and only IF Consumer Reports survey actually represented a valid field test for reliability, then they would've found a way to eliminate this "bias" by weighing the problems according to the owners expectations. But, since we all know CR sucks and pretty much publishes GARBAGE to the same biased reader base over and over again, then we all know they haven't. And that's all I care to look at since Forbes slide-show software sucks so bad.

Buick needs a Lacrosse (concept) like sedan... Something innovative, (suicide doors, 4-door convertible, cielo roof, hybrid etc.) beautiful and distinctly American in flavor. But here's the kicker. It needs a rock bottom knock out price like the Solstice. Not nessecerily the same price as the Solstice, but like the Solstice, lower than it's competition by far. Benchmark high; price low. In essence, Buick needs a miracle car like the Solstice is for Pontiac.

What a dramatic reversal of what he said not 6 months ago. I agree BUT! Not all of GM's divisions need a flagship ROADSTER or SPORTS CAR. Plus, these "flagship" vehicles need GREAT volume cars to back them up, or the sales will never materialize. Take Chevrolet for instance... The C6 Z06 is one helluva flagship car and it most certainly gets my heart racing enough to go into a Chevrolet dealership and shop for a coupe, but then when I realize I can't afford a C6 and am forced to look at the Monte Carlo as a completely unbiased or better yet import biased consumer as most people are these days, whether heavily or not. Then obviously I'm going to go get a more competitive offering from probably my safe haven or NORM, which would be Asia Inc. Now, personally, I like the new Monte Carlo and I think it's pretty decently competitive. BUT, if I were to be coming from the other camp or didn't know of the extensive history of the car, or the specialties in it because I'm a GM fan, then I would probably do the natural thing and stick to my NORM (Those who have taken a basic Sociology class know what I'm talking about) and buy an asian car. LMAO I agree, but we cannot loose sight of the fact that domestic ARE suffering from image problems and reputation problems. Therefore, we ***MUST*** continue to focus on elevating EVERY aspect of the car. GM cannot simply give the world a bunch of cars with pretty faces, then back that up with sub-par quality and engineering. That's a large part of the reason they're in crisis now. GM cars HAVE to BETTER the competition in every signifcant way. Not cool. By making that last remake Mr. Lutz shows doubt in GM's ability compared to Toyota's. This is bad for 2 reasons. 1) PRIDE- He is pretty much telling the press, Toyota and all the import sheep what they want to hear. and 2) He is fostering a sense of DOUBT throughout GM. Never, ever doubt yourself. Especially in the face of your biggest enemy. Now, I'm not saying to live in denial and not believe that you cannot be defeated, I'm just saying DO NOT GIVE UP before the battle has been fought.

Kerkorian isn't buying GM shares just because they are a 'good buy' The company has mounting healthcare costs that it cannot continue to fund, an image befitting of someone on death row, ever decreasing market share and market interest with ever INcreasing competition and resentment then to beat all, they're head is tied to the chopping block by a blindly powerful and naive labor union. I like being the GM optimist/fan as much as anyone here, but GM is by no means out of the woods yet. Trust me... He's a business man, he sees an oppotunity and he's executing it. The only variable in the equation is that we haven't figured out WHY he is doing it yet. I dunno, I'm a little nervous about it, but I'm also a little excited about it. The more people we can get to shake things up at GM right now, the better. Especially in the all important image department.

GM needs to duplicate this "IDEA" of being best in EVERY aspect of it's business, and I think we're almost to that point.

You know, the more I see this car the more it grows on me! I LOVE the front end and the rear with the tall spoiler looks great too... The side though, meh, it's alright I guess. I think, given the budget that they were working with, they did a pretty good job of making the car much more relevant and less cartoonish. The wheels look great, especially the top 2 options! I hope the Impala either has or gets these options. Hopefully, we can pick up a few sales with this iteration. P.S. The GM badge and SS badge together look too cluttered.

I'm tired of this "GM's XXX isn't as refined as [asian import]'s" based on these subjective measures deemed important by the automotive media. They take this CRAP that no one will ever notice, and that is subjective to begin with and blow it up into a BIG friggin' deal so they can slam GM simply because they can no longer justify slamming GM on merits alone. We're to a point where domestics are AS GOOD or BETTER than imports, yet this bias through MADE UP LIES and falsification or stretching/ignoring of facts still exists and is the accepted practice now, just to squeeze another point of share out of Detroit. "the top is a pain"..."the motor isn't as smooth"..."the shifter isn't as good" Always some SUBJECTIVE bullsh*t to score EXCELLENT GM vehicles lower

Can't wait to see C&D destroy the Solstice... :rolleyes: <_< :angry:

Great article!!! Now GM needs to apply this logic to ALL of it's programs.

Yeah, because the Escalade DEFINATELY didn't debut it. (Sarcasm) Glad someone else noticed this.

Gas is $3.49 and up here and there are only 2-3 stations in town that haven't ran out. Oh, and my family is some of those "laughable" people. We have an F-150 (Dad's job requires it) and a Silverado. But then again, we need the Silverado as we do a lot of towing between our camper, projects and horses.

Kinda like the Alero.... I for one loved the "childish" styling and "weird" interior. Then again, I hate bland, non-offensive and 'me-too' designs as well. All of which=most of the sedans out there now